ETSU economist beginning to feel bullish about recovery, but...

Local economist Steb Hipple is feeling bullish — at least relative to a year ago, and compared to many economists’ sense of how brisk the pending economic recovery will be.

“I think there’s enough stimulus in place that we are going to have a recovery next year that’s a little bit stronger than the consensus,” Hipple told the local chapter of a society of operations managers, APICS, at a Tuesday dinner.

Hipple, who called himself “a lifelong Republican, also said Obama has wasted political capital with what he called “the train wreck” of health care reform. Combined with fears of inflation by some economists, particularly on the right, that Hipple called unfounded, the result could be a weaker recovery than necessary. “My fear is that we might need a second stimulus package and we might not have the political will or the common sense to do it.”